Gay Bishop Gene Robinson to offer prayer at Barack Obama inauguration

A gay Anglican bishop, Gene Robinson, is to give the opening prayer at festivities to kick off President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration, the organising committee said on Monday.

11:56PM GMT 12 Jan 2009

The selection of Robinson for the opening party on Sunday came after weeks of criticism over Mr Obama's choice of conservative pastor Rick Warren to deliver the religious invocation on Tuesday, January 20, the day Mr Obama is sworn in to office.

Robinson, who is the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, will pray at the star-studded event to be broadcast on national television from the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, the inaugural committee said in a statement.

"Our intention is to root the event in history, celebrating the moments when our nation has united to face great challenges and prevail," said executive producer George Stevens, Jr

"We will combine historical readings by prominent actors with music from an array of the greatest stars of today."

Robinson, who announced his inclusion in the event in an email to friends that was printed in part by US media, said he believed his role was an important one.

"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson said in an interview with the Concord Monitor, a newspaper in the state of New Hampshire where he worships.